The California Highway Patrol is examining allegations that Hemet Unified School District has allowed school bus drivers to work beyond state limits intended to prevent fatigue, raising concerns about the safety of students and drivers.
Two complaints submitted to the CHP’s Motor Carrier Safety Unit on March 28 and April 18 accuse the district’s transportation department of repeatedly violating California rules governing how long school bus drivers may remain on duty. The complaints, filed by whistleblowers within the department, say the alleged violations placed tired drivers behind the wheel of buses carrying children.
The complaints are based on information the reporting employees say came from Hemet Unified’s digital timekeeping system. The April 18 complaint described the alleged violations as widespread and systemic rather than isolated mistakes.
According to the March 28 complaint, more than 40 drivers allegedly exceeded state safety limits hundreds of times between July 2025 and March 2026. The complaint identified 247 primary violations, including 227 instances in which drivers worked between 80 and 85 hours during an eight-day period, exceeding the 80-hour limit. It also cited 19 instances in which drivers worked more than 90 hours in eight days and 20 cases in which drivers worked beyond the 16-hour daily on-duty limit.
The April 18 complaint alleges that between January and April, at least 16 drivers worked more than 16 hours in a single day. It also documented more than 100 instances from Jan. 5 through April 17 in which drivers allegedly exceeded 80 hours in a rolling eight-day period, including nine drivers who surpassed 90 hours, according to the complaint.
The complaint warned that fatigue is a major factor in commercial vehicle crashes and said California places strict limits on pupil transportation hours because of the potential for deadly consequences. It said that if the district’s records are accurate, Hemet Unified could be operating in a way that is unlawful and unsafe.
CHP Sgt. Omar Morales of the Border Division said Thursday that the investigation began in mid-April and is being conducted jointly by motor carrier safety units from the CHP’s Border and Inland divisions. Morales said he could not discuss details of the inquiry but expected it to be completed within the next couple of months.
One reporting employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said more than six employees contacted the CHP and the media after they believed concerns raised with district transportation leadership and an administrator went unanswered. The employee said commercial drivers are repeatedly trained not to violate hours-of-service rules.
California Vehicle Code Section 21702 and related state regulations limit school bus drivers to 10 hours of driving in a day, bar them from being on duty more than 16 hours after reporting to work and prohibit them from driving after reaching 80 on-duty hours in any consecutive eight-day period.
District spokesperson Brenda Aguirre-Hassan said the claim that employees had previously raised the issue with district officials was unsubstantiated. She said Hemet Unified had not received formal complaints directly tied to the allegations but is reviewing personnel matters connected to the CHP investigation.
Aguirre-Hassan said the district follows safety protocols that comply with pupil transportation laws and regulations. She said employees receive recurring training on regulatory compliance and operational safety.
To verify driver hours, Aguirre-Hassan said Hemet Unified uses both digital timekeeping and manual logs, as required by law. She said those records are reviewed internally by the transportation department and are available to the CHP during scheduled and unscheduled terminal inspections.
The district is also evaluating upgrades to its auditing software that would alert officials in real time when drivers approach hours-of-service limits, Aguirre-Hassan said. She added that before the CHP investigation, Hemet Unified had long received “satisfactory” ratings, the highest possible, during CHP inspections.
Aguirre-Hassan said student safety remains the district’s top priority and that Hemet Unified is committed to transparency, accountability and continuous improvement.
Hemet Unified’s transportation department became a regional transportation hub in 2014 under former Transportation Manager Michael Fogerty. With one of the largest school bus fleets in Southern California, the district began providing transportation services to about 20 nearby districts and agencies, producing millions of dollars in outside revenue. District officials have said those contracts help cover operating costs, pay for fleet improvements and keep transportation services financially self-supporting.
The district did not provide a full list of its transportation partners. The April 18 complaint, however, says Hemet Unified serves several agencies, including the Perris Union High School District, Perris Elementary, Nuview Union Elementary and Romoland school districts, along with the San Jacinto and Val Verde unified school districts.
The complaint alleges that the outside transportation workload generates significant revenue and that some employees believe the district is prioritizing contract volume over safety. Aguirre-Hassan said Hemet Unified currently employs 239 professional school bus drivers.
The April 18 complaint also points to turnover in the transportation department, saying two executive directors, three transportation managers and one coordinator have left in recent years. It alleges that some newer managers lack sufficient knowledge of pupil transportation law and have given operational direction that employees believe violates regulations.
The anonymous employee said the department has struggled with management issues and communication problems since Fogerty retired about five years ago. The employee said staff members are frustrated because they believe district leaders do not fully understand the legal requirements of running a large pupil transportation operation.
The complaint specifically cites the district’s appointment of Jeff Keeney, the former principal of Valle Vista Elementary School, as executive director of transportation. It alleges that the district emphasized the need for someone who could boost morale while overlooking the technical and regulatory experience required for the position. The complaint also says several managers remain new in their jobs and appear unfamiliar with applicable transportation laws.
